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Abductees
want seized property back

Several Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) officials and human rights activists
abducted last year have asked the Attorney General (AG) to facilitate
the return of property seized by state security agents.

The abductees recently
petitioned the AG's head of litigation, Tawanda Zvekare, to facilitate
the return of property grabbed during searches conducted at the
residences of victims of last year's State sanctioned disappearances.

The eleven MDC
officials and human rights activists are part of a group of 17 people
abducted and held incommunicado in various secret locations between
October and December last year.

The State is charging
the abductees with sabotage, banditry, terrorism and plotting to
unseat the previous government led by President Robert Mugabe.

Gandhi Mudzingwa, now
Director of Infrastructure Development in Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's office lost his Nissan truck, US$310, a cell phone
handset and shoes among other items. Freelance photo-journalist
Andrison Manyere lost US$4 500, a laptop, three Nokia handsets,
a digital camera and his passport.

Kisimusi Dhlamini, the
MDC director of security lost US$2 000, a Nokia handset and two
sim cards, while Chinoto Zulu lost his Ford Bantam vehicle, US$2
010, a mobile handset and a sim card.

Fidelis Chiramba (73),
the oldest of the abductees lost three cameras, shoes, and a belt
while Mapfumo Garutsa lost his mobile handset and a sim card.

Manuel Chinanzvavana
and his wife Concilia, who were abducted from their Banket home
last October, lost a desktop computer, printer, clothes, mobile
handsets, several sim cards and children's passports.

Tawanda Bvumo lost US$135,
a mobile handset and a sim card.

Broderick Takawira,
a human rights activist with the Zimbabwe
Peace Project (ZPP) lost his mobile handset and two sim cards,
car keys and US$295, while Audrey Zimbudzana lost a mobile handset.

"Kindly make the
above property available to our clients for collection and advise
us as soon as possible when our clients can collect their property,"
the abductees' lawyers wrote to Zvekare.

Zvekare has not responded
nor acknowledged receipt of the letter.

Lawyers for the abductees
said they were also compiling a futher inventory of the missing
property for the other abductees who suffered the same fate as the
eleven.

Already, 17 of the abductees
have filed a lawsuit with the High Court demanding US$1.2 million
each in damages for abduction and torture.

In June, a Bikita Magistrate
granted an order allowing seven villagers to claim about $7 000
in damanges for property looted by alleged ZANU PF activists in
the run-up to last year's presidential run-off.

In a related incident,
16 villagers in Nyanga are waiting for a ruling on their application
to the Magistrate Court to be granted an order allowing them to
claim about $900 in damages for their property looted by alleged
Zanu PF supporters last year.